For
a game that draws its inspiration from such an exciting
movie, it just goes to prove that sometimes the sword
is mightier than the pen. by
Cole Smith

July
5, 2006 - Okay,
I admit that was a weak attempt at a pun. I just thought
that with the word "draw" in there, that
you might be able to take it as a verb, and then I
could get into that whole cliche thing about the pen
and sword since there's lots of swordfighting in this
pirate movie - and also in the game I might add. Like
a poor carpenter that blames his tools, it's a bad
comedian that has to explain his jokes. All I wanted
to do was to convey to you that this game is not nearly
as good as the movies, so get off my back...

Pirates
of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow should
not be confused with the theatrical release of Pirates
of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. They deal with
totally different stories. In a lot of cases I would
prefer that a game based on a movie take a different
course than that of the film. Sometimes the developers
end up with a real mess when they are forced to follow
the same plot. Some things just don't translate well
to videogames. The developers have the right idea
with The Legend of Jack Sparrow, but it's just not
executed very well. The game attempts to have us gain
some insight into the colorful character of the legendary
pirate made famous by the amazing talents of Johnny
Depp. Mr. Depp even recorded new dialog exclusively
for this game. But don't let the hype fool you. The
gameplay revolves primarily around swordfighting.
We do get some insight into Sparrow's past but it's
more of an appetizer than something that you can really
sink your teeth into.

At
the beginning of the game, Jack is waiting to be hanged
at the gallows with his partner-in-crime, Will Turner.
It appears the two of them were framed while searching
for some treasured jewel. Jack regales his audience
with tales of his past, which manages to keep him
from meeting his maker. The more tales he tells the
longer he lives. It's these very tales that set the
game a' sail. If you recall, Mr. Sparrow has a very
selective memory, selective to the point of selecting
things that didn't exactly happen. These "embellishments"
make for some interesting situations, but at the same
time we can never be fully assured of fact from fantasy.
There are times when it's obvious, and occasionally
some of the other characters will flatly deny their
involvement with some tales. This is a great device
that could be used to put Jack in virtually any situation
but it's not fully exploited. I was expecting things
to get really insane.

Jack's
tales of adventure take us around the world, and even
includes some incidents from the first Pirates of
the Caribbean movie, The Curse of the Black Pearl.
You will take part in treasure hunts on land and set
sail for the seven seas on your pirate ship. You will
perform platforming, exploring, collecting, puzzle
solving and the playing various mini-games but the
bulk of the gameplay will be combat. The preferred
method of combat among swashbucklers is swordfighting.
Using several knives, daggers and other bladed weaponry,
you will have only a few basic moves at your disposal.
You can link combos together, and perform other moves
such as blocking, rolling and throwing items such
as axes and fish. Most of these moves are enough to
take care of most enemies but it tends to get repetitive.
Even though you can upgrade some of your moves and
amass a great arsenal, the control system seldom rises
above that of a button masher.

Jack
loves company, so you're never alone in this game.
You can play with another player in the co-op mode
and have them play as both Will Turner and Elizabeth
Swann, or you can be accompanied by an AI-controlled
companion if you loath human companionship. The bot
does a great job of staying out of your way. It won't
die and you can actually take control of it, although
it doesn't have the same abilities as Jack. As I mentioned,
Jack's moves can be upgraded, but you have to get
your hands on some money first. You can acquire cash
by slaying the enemies, breaking open crates and locating
treasure chests. Even though there are lots of different
elements to the game including the upgrades, mini-games
and unlockable, they just seem like sprinkles atop
a huge hack-and-slash layer cake.

The
enemies are many and varied. You'll fight an interesting
collection of standard pirates, pirate ghosts, skeletons,
samurai warriors and other strange creatures such
sand monsters. Characters from the movie abound but
Depp is the only one to lend to his voice talent to
the game. Where's Orlando? Too big for his britches
I suppose? Depp puts in a less-than-stellar performance.
He doesn't deliver enough excitement or a fraction
of the personality to the character that he does onscreen.
The animations of Jack are somewhat exaggerated as
he lurches, stumbles and moves suspiciously like a
badly-animated videogame character. Sure, we know
it was intentional.

For
a game that was inspired by a movie that was inspired
by a theme park ride that was originally inspired
by a book, The Legend of Jack Sparrow is less than
inspired.

Features:

Co-op Multiplayer  Take on the challenge
with a friend and play side-by-side as Jack Sparrow
and Will Turner.

Live
the Past  Did Jack really sack Nassau
Port without firing a shot, or ride away from a
deserted isle on the backs of sea turtles? Now you''ll
find out, first hand!

Uncover
new weapons -- Throughout your adventure you''ll
be rewarded with new swords that allow you to unlock
more advanced combos

Secret
stuff  Hidden passages, special coins,
and other secrets await in each level for the player
to discover and reveal

Use
your head  The action isn''t limited
to swinging your sword, as you''ll need to use your
head to avoid detection, or dangerous traps

By
Cole SmithCCC
Senior Writer

Rating
out of 5

Pirates
of the Caribbean: Legend of Jack Sparrow
(PS2)

3.0

GraphicsAn
average looking game at best. Looks about
two years old. Some of the animation is
stiff.

3.5

ControlMostly
a button masher. There is little depth to
the controls but at least it will be accessible
to a wider variety of gamers.

2.8

Music
/ Sound FX / Voice Acting
Depp is the only actor from the movies to
lend his voice to the game. He sounds uninspired.

3.0

Play
ValueThere
are lots of unlockables, mini-games and
upgrades but having to go through the repetitive
hack-and-slash gameplay can be a bit of
a deterrent.

3.0

Overall
Rating -
Fair
Not an average. See Rating legend above
for a final score breakdown.